C – Our pate adventure continues …
I still can’t believe how much I liked the Pate de Grand Mere. I’m still full! These next two are less over-the-top … but still take awhile to make. While they are similar, there was a clear difference in taste.
Chicken Liver Mousse Mirabelle
This recipe was much faster that the first one, but still not the fastest recipe. It took less than two hours to make. Most of the time was waiting for the liver to cool down a bit.
The taste was good too. It had more of a liver taste than the Pate de Grande Mere.
I used it in an authentic Banh mi sandwich (this recipe will come in a few weeks). It really went well in the sandwich. Luke decided to add some leftover lamb liver from lamb week. We had frozen it and thawed it to make this pate.
The lamb liver really added a richer taste. I think if we didn’t add lamb liver to this one, it would have tasted similar to the next pate.
This pate was more like a mousse. We wish it could have hardened a bit more. It spread nicely on the sandwich and tasted great. The sage, shallots, thyme and cognac really gave this pate a different taste than the rest. I liked it.
Chicken Liver Pate
Chicken liver pate isn’t for the weak of heart. This one had the most chicken liver taste. If you don’t like liver, don’t make this one. It tasted good. Though, not as good as the first two in my opinion. I think it was because I only used chicken liver in it and nothing else. The other two had more ingredients.
This one is much more straight forward. Luke and I agreed that this one had a better texture to it, but just needed a few more herbs to really make the pate more flavorful.
This would be really good for Banh mi sandwiches, but not for hor d’oeuvres.
Now that we are done with pate three ways, the Be Mindful. Be Human. refrigerator is stocked full of pate. I think we could serve hors d’oeuvres to a small army and still have leftovers.
| Pate Three Ways: Part Two |
- 3 Tbsp black peppercorns
- 1 Tbsp grated nutmeg
- 2 Tbsp ground cinnamon
- 2 Tbsp whole cloves
- 1 pound chicken livers
- 1 pound lamb livers
- Salt and freshly ground black pepper
- 1 tsp Quatre Epics
- 1 Tbsp grapeseed oil
- 4 sage leaves
- 2 shallots, sliced
- 1 garlic clove, sliced
- 1 tsp fresh thyme leaves
- 1 Tbsp cognac
- ⅓ cup port
- ⅓ cup Marsala
- 8 ounces unsalted butter, softened
- ½ pound chicken livers, well-trimmed
- ½ small onion, thinly sliced
- 1 small garlic clove, smashed and peeled
- 1 bay leaf
- ¼ tsp thyme leaves
- Kosher salt
- ½ cup water
- 1½ sticks unsalted butter, at room temperature
- 2 tsp Cognac or Scotch whiskey
- Freshly ground pepper
- Toasted baguette slices, for serving
- Combine all ingredients in a spice grinder. Grind well.
- Clean the chicken and lamb livers of any bile residue, cut out the nerves and season them with salt and pepper and quatre epics.
- Put grapeseed oil into a large hot skillet and add the livers, sage, shallots, garlic and thyme. Toss the mixture well and cook over moderately high heat until the livers are medium rare.
- Add the cognac and flambe the mixture, tossing it well. Transfer it to a sieve set over a bowl and refrigerate the mixture for 1 hour.
- Add the port and Marsala wines to the skillet and deglaze the pan, stirring well. Reduce the liquid by three-fourths and transfer to a small bowl.
- When the livers are cold, transfer them to a food processor fitted with a steel blade. Add the reduced wine and softened butter and pulse to combine. Taste for seasonings.
- Force the mixture through a fine mesh sieve.
- Transfer it to a small terrine lined with plastic wrap. Refrigerate, covered with plastic wrap. The mousse is ready to serve when it is fully chilled.
- Serve the mousse with cornichons and toasted sliced French baguette. The mousse makes a perfect hor d’oeuvre for cocktails.
- In a medium saucepan, combine the chicken livers, onion, garlic, bay leaf, thyme and ½ teaspoon of salt. Add the water and bring to a simmer.
- Cover, reduce the heat to low and cook, stirring occasionally, until the livers are barely pink inside, about 3 minutes.
- Remove from the heat and let stand, covered, for 5 minutes.
- Discard the bay leaf.
- Using a slotted spoon, transfer the livers, onion and garlic to a food processor. Process until coarsely pureed.
- With the machine on, add the butter, 2 tablespoons at a time, until incorporated.
- Add the cognac, season with salt and pepper and process until completely smooth.
- Scrape the pate into 2 or 3 large ramekins and smooth out the top.
- Press a piece of plastic wrap directly onto the surface of the pate and refrigerate until firm.
- Serve chilled.
Oh well, we will have to freeze some of it and give the rest away, I guess.
Thanks Luke for this pate adventure.
Adapted from three sources:
CIA training book
http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/chicken-liver-mousse-mirabelle-recipe/index.html
http://www.foodandwine.com/recipes/chicken-liver-pate-march-2007